Rover Metro 1.4 advice

It's not necessarily a bad thing that it's had a new head-gasket. As you're probably aware, these use the rover k-series engine, which are prone to head gasket failure from the factory, however once replaced properly they aren't prone to it going again unless they run low on coolant. The main thing will be to check that the people who replaced the gasket knew what they were doing.

I'm no k-series expert, so you'll be better off finding a proper guide to replacing the gasket else ware (www.aronline.co.uk and the Metro Power forum could be a good place to start.) Then you'll want to ask the buyer a few questions to get an idea of whether they actually knew what they were doing replacing the gasket. Things like 'what dowels is it fitted with' (metal or plastic), what sort of protrusion did the cylinder liners have? and importantly, 'does it have the MLS gasket fitted now?'

A couple of k-series based links: general in depth info, k-series FAQ

As for the rest of the car, check well for rust. Even late metro's and R100's love to rust, to an extraordinary extent sometimes! Rear arches, front jacking points, front seat mounts and front inner wings tent to be hot spots for it, but check everywhere you can!

PS, Welcome to the forum.

Cheers guys! Thanks for the welcome too!

Just had a quick read through those links and I understand the problems more now, and the precautions to take and the questions to ask about them. In the even that I do look at the car I'll give it a good look round and check for fluid around the suspension (is that a good way to check?) and if not they could be just low on fluid (I've heard they can get them pumped up again for around £30, not too fussed about paying that).

Another question, due to the problems it's had, or could of had, how much should I offer etc?

Important bits to look at on a Rover Metro:

1: The 1.4 8v engine is actually quite robust, but cooling, cooling, cooling is what it's all about. So even if the car's been given a new headgasket, check everything. The thermostat is in an awkward place, the thermostatic switch for the radiator fan is prone to giving up (hence many blown gaskets) and they need to be bled properly and given regular coolant changes. Get the car warm, fan should cut in before the needle hits 3/4 mark. If it doesn't and you're still thinking about it, disconnect the fan switch (OS radiator half-way down) and short the wires with a loop of wire/paperclip/whatever - if the fan's working then the little sensor is cheap.

Filling the cooling system has two bleed points. Quick check, look on the nearside-end of the engine (gearbox side) at the metal pipe running backwards. Does it look like the bolt on it has ever been disturbed, particularly if the HGF was repaired recently? If not, it's probably not been correctly bled and will have airlocks. The other bleed point is more obvious, on the heater matrix pipes.

2: Suspension.

Height is variable with temperature - so they're expecting the factory height at 17° C. In cold weather it can sit much lower, quite distinctly so. If it's not on the bump stops and the pipes are good, don't worry about it, pump-ups are £20. Personally I like the ride height to be correct and hate the practice of lowering them by letting fluid out; the car will handle brilliantly. If you want the best handling, front dampers get rid of some of the bounce, but need brackets adding on non-sporting variants not fitted with them from stock (can't remember right now which have them, I think GTas do).

Of much more importance are the four grease nipples. Two easily accessed on the rear radius arms, clearly visible through rear arches. Neglected, you will need new arm bearings - not expensive, but a lot of effort to replace involving disturbing suspension components. If the car's got negative camber at the back, it's not "stanced", it's broken. It might squeak on bumps, too.

Front suspension has grease nipples as well - these are less obvious and damn fiddly to get to.

If you want to lower it, replacement suspension knuckles do it properly and keep the damping/movement.

Bodywork - all covered really. It doesn't hide much, but inner wings can go and are well hidden.

Wiring - key fobs cannot be user programmed. Central locking motors are repairable and have a common failure issue.

Gearbox - 5 speeders should be lovely. Clutch cable can detach easily (more a "OMG what happened to my car!" possible breakdown thing, than a buying point).

Many, many parts are still available from Rimmer Bros - and they're a fantastic little car.

And in my opinion, the A-series Metros are fun but very much of their era - crude, crashy, noisy and a bit cramped. The changes made to the R6 Metro/100 transform it - it's a really comfortable, pleasant car to drive. A-series are nice fun second cars, a 100 can be driven every day without much hardship when compared to a modern car.

This is probably all doubled in those links of course, but I figured I'd pop it here.

MGF cans are an upgrade, but given how rare they're getting...

100s have pre-rolled rear arches, too!

they do a head saver kit for the k series , far better than standard head gaskets ,.